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12A — HICKORY DAILY RECORD
Property deemed unsafe;
area restaurants offer
help for displaced workers
• SINKHOLES, from 1A
es under U.S. 70.
"You start blasting water
out of the pipes, it's going to
disrupt the ground outside
the pipe," Hansen said. "You
really eat a hole in the
ground from the bottom up."
The waterline to the
restaurant broke when the
sinkhole collapsed, but
workers shut offithe tap.
City officials,emphasize
the storm di%jnage.pipe is privately owneoY.Engineers and
restaurant officials are working on figuring out' what happened and how to fix it. The
city is involved because it has
become a public safety issue.
The city put up a 4-foot
high construction fence
along the right of way Monday because people ignored
the police tape.
Shaw said he saw how
dangerous things still were
that afternoon.,
"I was just standing in our
patio area at the hole in the
front of the building — I'd
say a good 10 feet collapsed," he said.
He's been amazed by the
hundreds of people who
have come by to see the
sinkholes. \
"The street has been pretty much bumper-to-bumper
traffic," he said.
Late Monday, Hickory
police closed the right-hand
turn lane on U.S. 70 next to
the restaurant's parking lot.
About a half-dozen people watched from behind the
temporary fence shortly
before 5 p.m. Monday, and a
steady stream of cars was
turning into the side street
off U.S. 70, driving by and
turning around.
Tricia Ben-Davies and
Heather Norman, both 16-
year-old students at Hickory
High School, approached
city workers and asked for a
tour of the hole.
"We heard about it and
thought it was really cool,"
said Heather. The workers
politely explained to her
how dangerous things are.
"It might sink, and we
might fall in the hole," she
said as the girls soon left.
The attention isn't limited
to those wanting to see
what's going on.
Shaw said he's been
amazed by all the people
who want to help.
Area' restaurants are
offering temporary jobs for
the 80 employees displaced
by the sudden .closing. Suppliers have called offering
assistance.
The restaurant sent tfiree
pickup trucks full of food to
the Hickory Soup Kitchen
on Monday afternoon. Vs- .
"We had burgers, steaks,
bread," Shaw said. "Pretty
much everything on our
menu fijU wings, salads,
chicken breasts. It was just a
lot of stuff"
Btifialo's Southwest Cafe
opened in October, and Shaw
said they intend to stay. &&j
"We've had a lot of pec£'
pie thinking we're gone,for
good," he said. "We're not.
We're going to reopen." ,V
Photo courtesy of Shane Isenhour/Highly Focused
An aerial photo shows the two large sinkholes at Buffalo's Southwest Cafe on U.S. 70 in Hickory on Monday. The property has
been declared as unsafe and security guards have been posted 24 hours a day.
Getting larger by the minute
Officials say giant sinkholes are still unstable, extremely dangerous
• Reach Monte Mitchell at 322-
4510, Ext. 258 or
mmitchell@hickoryrecord.com.
By MONTE MITCHELL
Record Staff Writer
Giant sinkholes eating up the parking
lot at Buffalo's Southwest Cafe are still
unstable and extremely dangerous to
people coming to look at them, say city
and restaurant officials.
"We've had people with their families,
and they'll walk right up to the edge," said
restaurant manager Brent Shaw. "It's
scary and growing larger by the. minute."
At 4 p.m. Monday, the city of Hickory posted the property as unsafe, closing
the building and parking lot to all but
those working to fix the problem. Secu-.
rity guards are posted 24 hours a day.
Shaw.said people don't realize at some
spots there's no dirt underneath the asphalt.
"It's a nnhlir cafptv issup at this
Heavy rains force closure
of Hickory street, page 4A
point," said Armin Wallner, Hickory's
.building inspections director. "For some
reason, people don't understand; 15 or
20 feet beyond it's breaking off, and it's
getting bigger and bigger."
The two sinkholes appeared around
5:45 p.m. Saturday during a deluge that
dumped an estimated four inches of rain
on the city. The restaurant was full of
diners, but eveiyone was safely evacuated. A car disappeared into a hole.
The hole, just feet from the front
door, is close enough to affect the building's support.
npHnrino the hnilrlinc unsafe and
keeping people out guards against a
worst-case scenario of having to send
rescuers into a collapse.
"Right now it's a precautionary
thing," Wallner said.
City officials said nobody really
knows how deep the holes are.
"It's big enough to swallow a
Corvette, and they can't see it," Wallner
said. "It's full of water."
Chuck Hansen, Hickory's public
services director, said the privately
owned drain pipe failed, but nobody
knows why. "Whether it was blocked or
overloaded, we're not sure," he said.
The large pipe ties in to a privately
owned drainage system that extends
from near the Red Roof Inns and cross-
See SINKHOLES, page 12A

Copyright Hickory Public Library. The materials in this collection are made available for use in research, teaching and private study. Images and text may not be used for any commercial purposes without prior permission from Hickory Public Library.

12A — HICKORY DAILY RECORD
Property deemed unsafe;
area restaurants offer
help for displaced workers
• SINKHOLES, from 1A
es under U.S. 70.
"You start blasting water
out of the pipes, it's going to
disrupt the ground outside
the pipe," Hansen said. "You
really eat a hole in the
ground from the bottom up."
The waterline to the
restaurant broke when the
sinkhole collapsed, but
workers shut offithe tap.
City officials,emphasize
the storm di%jnage.pipe is privately owneoY.Engineers and
restaurant officials are working on figuring out' what happened and how to fix it. The
city is involved because it has
become a public safety issue.
The city put up a 4-foot
high construction fence
along the right of way Monday because people ignored
the police tape.
Shaw said he saw how
dangerous things still were
that afternoon.,
"I was just standing in our
patio area at the hole in the
front of the building — I'd
say a good 10 feet collapsed," he said.
He's been amazed by the
hundreds of people who
have come by to see the
sinkholes. \
"The street has been pretty much bumper-to-bumper
traffic," he said.
Late Monday, Hickory
police closed the right-hand
turn lane on U.S. 70 next to
the restaurant's parking lot.
About a half-dozen people watched from behind the
temporary fence shortly
before 5 p.m. Monday, and a
steady stream of cars was
turning into the side street
off U.S. 70, driving by and
turning around.
Tricia Ben-Davies and
Heather Norman, both 16-
year-old students at Hickory
High School, approached
city workers and asked for a
tour of the hole.
"We heard about it and
thought it was really cool,"
said Heather. The workers
politely explained to her
how dangerous things are.
"It might sink, and we
might fall in the hole," she
said as the girls soon left.
The attention isn't limited
to those wanting to see
what's going on.
Shaw said he's been
amazed by all the people
who want to help.
Area' restaurants are
offering temporary jobs for
the 80 employees displaced
by the sudden .closing. Suppliers have called offering
assistance.
The restaurant sent tfiree
pickup trucks full of food to
the Hickory Soup Kitchen
on Monday afternoon. Vs- .
"We had burgers, steaks,
bread," Shaw said. "Pretty
much everything on our
menu fijU wings, salads,
chicken breasts. It was just a
lot of stuff"
Btifialo's Southwest Cafe
opened in October, and Shaw
said they intend to stay. &&j
"We've had a lot of pec£'
pie thinking we're gone,for
good," he said. "We're not.
We're going to reopen." ,V
Photo courtesy of Shane Isenhour/Highly Focused
An aerial photo shows the two large sinkholes at Buffalo's Southwest Cafe on U.S. 70 in Hickory on Monday. The property has
been declared as unsafe and security guards have been posted 24 hours a day.
Getting larger by the minute
Officials say giant sinkholes are still unstable, extremely dangerous
• Reach Monte Mitchell at 322-
4510, Ext. 258 or
mmitchell@hickoryrecord.com.
By MONTE MITCHELL
Record Staff Writer
Giant sinkholes eating up the parking
lot at Buffalo's Southwest Cafe are still
unstable and extremely dangerous to
people coming to look at them, say city
and restaurant officials.
"We've had people with their families,
and they'll walk right up to the edge," said
restaurant manager Brent Shaw. "It's
scary and growing larger by the. minute."
At 4 p.m. Monday, the city of Hickory posted the property as unsafe, closing
the building and parking lot to all but
those working to fix the problem. Secu-.
rity guards are posted 24 hours a day.
Shaw.said people don't realize at some
spots there's no dirt underneath the asphalt.
"It's a nnhlir cafptv issup at this
Heavy rains force closure
of Hickory street, page 4A
point," said Armin Wallner, Hickory's
.building inspections director. "For some
reason, people don't understand; 15 or
20 feet beyond it's breaking off, and it's
getting bigger and bigger."
The two sinkholes appeared around
5:45 p.m. Saturday during a deluge that
dumped an estimated four inches of rain
on the city. The restaurant was full of
diners, but eveiyone was safely evacuated. A car disappeared into a hole.
The hole, just feet from the front
door, is close enough to affect the building's support.
npHnrino the hnilrlinc unsafe and
keeping people out guards against a
worst-case scenario of having to send
rescuers into a collapse.
"Right now it's a precautionary
thing," Wallner said.
City officials said nobody really
knows how deep the holes are.
"It's big enough to swallow a
Corvette, and they can't see it," Wallner
said. "It's full of water."
Chuck Hansen, Hickory's public
services director, said the privately
owned drain pipe failed, but nobody
knows why. "Whether it was blocked or
overloaded, we're not sure," he said.
The large pipe ties in to a privately
owned drainage system that extends
from near the Red Roof Inns and cross-
See SINKHOLES, page 12A